Agnieszka Radwanska storms into the quarterfinals – Western & Southern Open 2012
Top seeded Polish, Agnieszka Radwanska, defeated Sloane Stephens in a three-set thriller, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, and qualified for the quarter-final draw of Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Thursday.
Ranked 49th in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Stephens managed to upset the world number three in the second set of the match. She proved to be a tough competition and prolonged the match for nearly
two hours.
Talking to the media, Stephens said, “First set was terrible, but I got it back going. When I started (getting) kinda loose and started playing, I just was executing my shots better.”
Radwanska told the media in a post match interview, “I think it’s still hard for me to like good tennis on hard court. I think I still need couple more matches and few days to adjust for the surface. Pretty much serve and
return was the same weapon for both of us. I think it was the key for this match and long game. And I think, you know, I was just better for a couple points in this match.”
The former world number two started a brilliant display by attaining a lead early in the match. Stephens was not able to secure a point for very long time in the initial set. This built the scores to the Pole’s advantage,
however, towards the end in the last two games, she managed to pocket one point bring the score to 5-1. In response to this Radwanska nailed a break to the game and went forward to jolt down a 6-1 score to claim the opening set.
In the second set, the momentum of the game shifted and Stephen managed to break Radwanska’s serve three times in total. She picked the lead in the match and was able to maintain a 4-love score against the second ranked Pole
tennis ace. Radwanska’s game was considerably sloppy earlier in the set but she gradually adopted the aggressive stance, however, it was a little too late by then. The underdog gave her a 4-6 upset, to come at equal terms with the top seeded contender.
After the shocking disposal of Radwanska in the second set, both players entered the decider with aim of clinching victory. The 19-year-old was back in form this time and she tried hard to equalize the score to 3-all in the
middle of the final set. Nonetheless, Radwanska nailed a crucial break point to get into the driving seat, sealing the match at 6-4.
She is drawn against the ninth seeded Chinese Li Na for the next round of the tournament.
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